Back in the day, whenever you”d consider an Infiniti, you always had the sense they were the rejected second thought alternatives to Lexus, Mercedes, BMW and the like. Eventually, you”d stumble upon one of those few motorists who owned one, and they”d tell you that they”re brilliant to drive. In a sense, they were like the few girls from your university dormitories that were never really quite lookers, but strangely you heard it through the grapevine that they were quite good in bed. Infinitis were nearly facing extinction–just like the latter girls nearly ended up being coke addicts””but then a chap by the name of Carlos Ghosn came around in 1999 to save the distressed soul of Infiniti, and sent it through rehab.

It was the introduction of the Infiniti G35 in 2003 that saved Infiniti and it was so competitively good, that it knocked the BMW E46 3er off its first place steeple in several comparisons and even won Motor Trend”s Car of the Year in 2003. But that was seven years ago and when the G35 was coming to the end of its production run, BMW slowly regained its winning place. After seven years of evolution, two generations and a facelift, what we have in front of us, is one of many trim levels added to the 3-Series runner-up: the 2010 Infiniti G37xS.

Now, it would be nice if I was on some pokey motoring show like Top Gear to present this car to you in the form of powerslides on an abandoned airfield, but unfortunately I”m not so I”m going to have to explain everything in print – mmm how scholarly.

Exterior:

Infinitis were never really quite attractive. They were rather bland and never really stuck out as unique and attractive, which is part of the reason why they almost failed. But after the addition of the handsome G35 Coupe and the strangely attractive invention of the luxury performance crossover, the FX, things were starting to look better. And here, with the new G37 and its new facelift, things are better than they”ve ever been before. Infiniti said that the second generation had all completely new body panels. At first, many never notice much of a difference but yet it always struck me as far smoother than the original G35. The nose is wonderfully aggressive, yet it rolls softly and is very clean. What with the recessed hood and the shoulder line which lines the inner hood and centralizes into the middle lower air duct, L-shaped headlamps and a trapezoidal grill””it”s all very inspiring. The protruding shoulder line gives it a very muscular feel and gives the car a sense of athleticism.

Interior:

And things are just as good on the inside as they are on the outside. Infiniti as of recent has been praised for their build quality. Once you step in, you”re enveloped in a cockpit with exceptionally comfortable yet supportive seats. Materials are high quality and soft to the touch and switchgear is nice, tactile and driver-oriented. It is rather snug inside but it isn’t overwhelmingly and uncomfortably small. You feel like you”re in a cockpit”¦ and rightfully so when you”re behind this rocket ship.

Performance:

Fire up Infiniti”s famous 3.7-Liter VQ37VHR-or-whatever V6 and it rumbles to life as it settles down to a smooth, low idle. Pushing out 332 HP at 7000 RPM and 269 lb-ft of torque at 5,200 RPM through a quick shifting 7-speed automatic with flappy paddles, it”ll thrust you into the horizon by doing naught to 60 in a whopping 5.4 seconds, will pull a quarter mile in 13.9 seconds at 100.5 MPH, and will hit a top speed of 155 MPH. It”s almost a half second slower to 60 than its RWD sibling, but nonetheless, is a very quick car. The power curve is wide and flat and the gearbox is set to take full advantage of that curve in nearly every gear.

And things get better when you come to a corner. The G37xS is equipped with Nissan”s ATTESA ET-S AWD system””imagine having a meal conversation with the man who invented that acronym”¦probably as exciting as a bowl of pea soup””which adds 150 lbs to the G37″s RWD sibling to a grand total of curb weight of 3,859 lbs. Weight distribution is nearly bang-on. And the chassis? Well, instead of getting too technical, we”ll just say this. Based off of Infiniti”s widely used and popular FM platform, it is nothing less than spectacular. Ride quality is a bit firm, but never overwhelmingly jarring and body motions are well controlled. The steering, which lost some of its feel because of the added AWD system, is still nonetheless outstanding, providing enough feel and feedback to make the steering in BMW”s E90 3er AWD variant seem lethargic. And that”s quite a statement.

Now there are a few drawbacks. Throttle tip-in is still way too sensitive, making it a challenge to accelerate smoothly in normal traffic without upsetting the stomachs of your passengers. It”s been an ongoing issue for the Infiniti G. And what happened to that inspiring exhaust note? It”s like taking the steel drum band away from a Caribbean holiday.

Overall:

Altogether, we here at egmCarTech don”t care about these minor setbacks. The Infiniti G37xS might not be as good to drive as it”s RWD sibling, which is expected from the added weight of the AWD system. But that”s like saying sex isn”t as enjoyable when your partner has love handles”¦it”s a little less appealing, but you have something to grip on”¦and it still feels good. And with standard equipment bearing more acronyms than alphabet soup, like ATTESA ET-S, VSA, ASR, ABS, EBD, ICC, AFS, ASC, a custom designed Bose sound system with iPod connectivity, 14-way leather seats, dual zone climate control, moonroof, automatic lights and wipers, auto-dimming rear-view, adaptive bi-xenon headlights, six airbags, and 18-inch wheels and much more, even fully equipped the G37xS will take $43,725 out of your wallet, a full $9k less than a similarly equipped and just as fast BMW 335i XDrive. So is it a BMW beater? No. It isn”t. Is it very close? Yes, it is. In fact, if we were stuck between the two and were on bit of a budget, we”d pick the G37 hands down. If money wasn”t an option ““ well, than we”d be stuck standing with the G37 on our left and the BMW 3 on our right saying “eenie meenie miney moe.”

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Very nicely said… who is this new guy Christopher Chin? New addition to egm?

Pat

Welcome to egmCarTech Chris. You have a very animated tone – I like it. Looking forward to reading more stuff from you in the future

Dlphnwx2003

Hi, Does the sport package on the 2011 awd come with the better brakes or are they still the standard? Thanks

Cheap-Auto-Insurance

Hi there, Do you have features for the car audio system of this car? and estimates for the consumption? Will be glad to hear from you if you have one. Thank you.Best Regards,Sky (car insurance questions Car Insurance Questions)